Guinness Pot Pie
/// An end of winter pie. Flakey, buttery crust atop a vegetable and beef filling that has been deepened by the richness of a Guinness. A healthy-ish addition to your St. Patty's Day festivities.
Guinness Pot Pie
Serves 4
For Filling:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 pounds of beef stew meat in 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks of celery
1 large carrot
1 parsnip
1 medium turnip
2 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of rosemary
10 cremini mushrooms
Salt and Pepper
¼-½ cup flour
2, 15oz cans of Guinness
1 cup of beef broth
For Shortcrust Pastry:
*As found in Good Things to Eat, by Lucas Hollweg
200g plain flour
A good pinch of salt
125g cold unsalted butter
2 medium egg, one for dough, one for eggwash
1 teaspoon cold water
For Filling
In a large pot over medium-high heat, sear the beef stew meat on all sides. It will take about 2 minutes on each side, until you notice browning. Once finished, remove from pot and set aside in a separate bowl.
Reduce heat to medium, medium-low. Add in sliced onions with a pinch of salt and cook for 5-10 minutes until softened. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables. Mince the garlic and chop the celery, carrots, parsnip, and turnip into about ½-1 inch pieces. Remove the thyme and rosemary from their respective stems.
When the onions are softened, add in garlic, celery, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and herbs. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking remove stems from mushrooms and slice. Add to pot when the time is up and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms have softened.
Return beef to the pot. Coat the meat and vegetables with flour. Start with a ¼ cup, if this does not fully cover, add a bit more, up to ½ cup. Allow the flour to incorporate with the oil for a few minutes. Deglaze the pan with the 2 cans of Guinness and 1 cup of beef broth. Make sure that the ingredients are just covered with liquid. If you need more, add a bit more broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 1 hour. If the liquid has not significantly thickened, remove lid and allow to simmer for an additional 10-20 minutes or until the liquid is thick.
For Shortcrust Pastry
In a medium bowl, sift in flour and salt. Chop butter into small pieces and add to bowl. Using your hands push the flour and butter through your index fingers and thumbs to make sheets out of the butter. Do this until all of the butter is combined.
In a small bowl, add one egg and water. Whisk together and then add to the flour and butter mixture. Incorporate with your hands until the dough begins to form a cohesive ball. Do not over handle the dough. Flatten into a round disc, wrap in plastic wrap and pop into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, do not skip this step!
To Assemble
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove dough from the fridge. On a floured surface roll out dough to a circle that is ¼ inch and at least 10 inches in diameter. Place filling in a 9 inch deep dish pie pan. If you have too much filling store additional filling in the fridge for a tasty little leftover. Set rolled out dough over the filling. You should have a bit of overhang here. Fold the overhang under and press into itself so that it sticks.
To create the decorative edges, create a “V” with your index and middle finger. Place on the edge of the crust, and pull the dough on the inside of the “V” towards the center. Repeat all the way around.
Take a sharp knife and cut 4 slits in the crust coming out from the center of the pie. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg. Using a pastry brush, brush the dough with the egg wash.
Pop the pie into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve up with your favorite stout beer and enjoy!
